Kamloops

New app preserves Shuswap legend

Preserving the traditional Shuswap language. There's now an app for that. It launches this weekend.

A Shuswap First Nations legend is being kept alive thanks to technology and a group of local elders

From the Tlli7sa story text: 'He charged up to the beaver, he stabbed him with his harpoon, and he got dragged to the bottom of the water. Braden Hallett worked closely with elders to produce the images. (Illustration by Braden Hallett)

An epic First Nations legend that dates back thousands of years in the Kamloops area is getting some new life.
 

Illustration from the Tlli7sa app (Illustration by Braden Hallett)


The story of "Tlli7sa" connects over a dozen First Nations communities.

It's now being preserved digitally - like a picture book with graphics - thanks to a new mobile app.

It's official launches this weekend at the Secwepemc Cultural Gathering.

Marianne Ignace is the director of the First Nations Language Centre at Simon Fraser University. (Jennifer Chrumka/CBC)

Marianne Ignace is behind the project. She's the director of the First Nations Language Centre at Simon Fraser University.

She's been working with the Skeetchestn Indian Band.

Ignace showed Daybreak's Jennifer Chrumka how the new app works.

To hear the interview, click the link: New app preserves Shuswap legend